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On August 26th, the Mosaic Community gathered in the front yard of the Atkins’ for a one year celebration of the great things that God has done in and through our lives. We enjoyed great food, great music, fun times and a time to toast Jesus for all the things He is doing in our community. Here is a quick overview of the comments and reflection that Matt Atkins shared during this time.
Since then….
- Our children took flowers to neighbors during our bbq
- Many served at the YL BBQ Beef Barn
- We helped out on the Rebound WC Board meetings & single mom’s help
- We gave out Bless Bags for homeless
- Tree planting with Roosevelt CC
- Lighthouse Mission Thanksgiving Meal
- Rebound Women Christmas baskets
- Coffee cards & Christmas Cards for all BHS Staff & Faculty
- Christmas Dinner Delivery
- Hosted Molly Knight & Noah (YWAMer) for 6 weeks
- Raised money for Charity Water
- Hosted tables at the YL banquets
- Served at Benefit X – fund raiser for SHH (AIDS Hospice)
- Yard clean up at SHH
- Met with Jesse P. of Slum Doctor to help plan AIDs awareness event.
- Fircreek Workday
- Hall’s Extreme home makeover
- Ski to Sea – first time in 15 yrs of min. in Bellingham that I (Matt) have been at the finish line serving.
- WMS Landscaping
- RCC & Bethel CRC Be an Offering Day
- Helped Amy McMurtrey go to Africa
- Supported Ben & Tammy on the Seattle to Portland Bike Trip
- One of our interns (Jacky) is serving SHH one day a week by cooking
- Individuals/Families – neighborhood bbq’s, parties, park clean-ups, etc…
- R&Brews, Film & Friends, Get To Know Others Brunch/Dinners, Diakonos & Leadership Community Gatherings
- Giving has gone from a few hundred bucks to over $10k/month
Unfortunately, most of the western church lives as if the church is primarily an institution that exists for the benefit of its participants. They would never say that this is what is believed, but in the way that we live, it is clear that the mission statement and the things we say we “believe” don’t necessarily line up with our actions.
We are trying to live differently at Mosaic. We are trying to live as if the church is primarily people who join together to carry out the mission of God on the earth. Carla sent us a link to a site that is really helpful, www.friendofmissional.org. Here is a list of some of the things we are learning as we grow into a missional church.
* From programs to processes
* From demographics to discernment
* From models to missions
* From attractional to incarnational
* From uniformity to diversity
* From professional to passionate
* From seating to sending
* From decisions to disciples
* From additional to exponential
* From monuments to movements
Our next year will be filled with learning to live lives that are intentionally oriented around the life and teaching of Jesus, our Savior and Lord! We believe that as Jesus-followers, this is our primary purpose in life. Everything else needs to be adjusted so that our “rhythm” (way of life) has room in it for obedience to Jesus’ instruction, both written and spoken through His Spirit.
We believe this is best lived out as a community. An individual who serves others (”let’s their light shine before men…”) is a powerful testimony of the life-changing power of Jesus. A community that serves together is like a city on a hill, that shines (through good work/actions) for all to see. These communities not only testify to the glory of God, they also change the perception, and therefore influence, of the “church” (ekklesia) in our community. Changing the perception and the influence of the church in our city and county, is why we believe God has called us together. We firmly believe that the “church” is primarily people who gather together to carry out the mission of God in the world and in doing so, who BLESS the city that we live in and bring glory to our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:1-16).
